Roasted Tomato and Garlic Pasta - total time 20 minutes

It's nice and warm outside now (finally), so a quick light pasta is the only kind of pasta that will do.

I planted my garden the first weekend in May and covered it with a hoop house... getting it in the ground early and the extra heat from the plastic cover means I'm starting to get cherry tomatoes already! They're perfect for roasting quickly in the oven along with some garlic and tossing into pasta with basil and parm. So simple and quick, it might end up being your go-to meal this summer!

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Weekly Menu

Another fabulous weekend in Columbus!  Perfect weather... somehow it managed not to rain on the Memorial Tournament.

Celebrated three years of drinkupcolumbus with a couple local brews.  Got to sit in the company-I-work-for's suite for the Clipper's game on Friday.  They kept some of the stuff from Cooper stadium, so every time I go to Huntington Park it takes me back!  Finally got some drinks a Denmark where they take the time to make your drink right.  Headed over to Hayden Run to the 35 foot waterfall in the middle of the city and then took a stroll along the river.  Finished up the weekend hanging out with my college roommates, one of which was in from Chi-town.  Wish we could get together more often!

  

 

I love the busy summer schedule... but weekends are typically when I catch up on sleep, not get less than I do on 'school nights'.  I'm so ready for a nap!

This week's menu...

rosemary parm chicken and asparagus on the grill!

seared scallop alfredo and caesar salad

pizza night
asian meatballs and rice
ravioli

... and lots of spinach, strawberry, green onion salads with feta using my bingredinets from GreenBEAN and CSA.

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May Vignettes

Some months are happy and some months are sad. And then there are those months where the happiness and sadness are lined up right next to one another. And I guess those months are just called �life�. May was a big life month for me. It was full of beautiful �goodbyes" and wonderful �hellos�.

Here is what May looked like� 

{and as always, click the picture to follow the link!}

�on Organized Charm

So, with the end of the school year and the finals and the job searching and the moving, May was definitely not my most post-filled month. HOWEVER, I did manage to answer a few requested posts that I�ve been meaning to get to for a while (sorry, y�all!). 

Oh, and did I mention that OC reached 100 likes on Facebook?!
THANK Y�ALL SOOOO MUCH for all of your support! 

�in my �real life�

We said goodbye to my sweet grandmother (who lived to be 90!). 

We said goodbye to the house where we have lived for our entire married life. 

And I said goodbye to the parents, school, and students that I have worked with for the past 3 years.

We moved into our new loft just in time for Memphis in May�s annual BBQ Fest (which is held one block away from our new home). 

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We couldn�t be more in love with our new neighborhood! We are so happy to live somewhere where practically everything is within walking distance. 

Plus, we have had an awesome time decorating (and organizing!) our new space. Additionally, I have practically become an expert on indoor gardening! (and by that, I mean I have 3 indoor plants that haven�t died... yet)

�other places online

My absolute favorite thing that I�ve seen online this past month is this amazingly fun career personality test from Good.Co Blog. It is a personality test that determines your strengths, perfect job, etc. 

It takes less than 3 minutes and the whole time you�re just thinking these are the most random questions� this is so silly. Until, you get your results. 

And then you�re like, tell me more, oh wise personality test! 

So, you should definitely take it! Maybe you�ll learn something about yourself you didn�t know before! 

Cheers to a bright and cheery June! :) 

What were some of the highlights of your May?!

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Not So Sloppy Joes - total time 40 minutes

Oh boy, I am such a messy eater. My husband can always tell when I've been getting into something sweet because I somehow end up with chocolate on my face. I really have no idea how it happens, but he always notices! I swear it's happened when I haven't had anything with chocolate...

So if it happens with a bit of chocolate, you can imagine what happens with something like wings or... heaven help me... sloppy joes. You don't even want to see the damage afterward.

As a result, I have steered clear of the sloppy joe sandwiches. The occasional exception needs to be open-faced with fork and 10 napkins in hand.

But what if you could make it less messy? Why not make it encompass all of the sloppiness? My husband called these sloppy joe hot pockets... but I would like to think these are of higher quality than a microwaved, processed, pocket of heat. It really is just sloppy joe made from scratch (although I just ran out of my own canned tomatoes) and just like you would eat a normal sloppy joe, just all wrapped up! Perfect for lunches and days your short on napkins. :)

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Creamy Salmon Pasta - total time 25 minutes

My husband and I both accepted new jobs back in December. His requires him to be at work early (and also home early) and mine some times requires late nights. This difference in work schedules has impacted our life schedules too. We're no longer waking up at the same time, which means there's an even wider gap between 'bedtimes' than there used to be. It also means he is home (usually) hours before me at night... waiting for dinner.

Can't blame him... he is usually eating lunch by the time I'm finishing my morning coffee. That's a long time to wait between meals.

So, the dinner goal is often... the faster the better! Those 8pm dinners don't work when he is going to bed right after.

This recipe is perfect for a quick dinner. And it tastes sooo good too! Not much of a mess to clean up afterward either (always a winner in my book). Salmon and a cream sauce go hand-in-hand, quite delectable. The broccoli gives it a slight crunch for texture. And the herbs brighten the dish since cream sauces can feel a little heavy. Yum! I'm ready for a second serving!

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5 Things Recent Grads Should Know

Living through the post-grad months is pretty tricky... There is all of this excitement building up to graduation, all of those cards that tell you to "chase your dreams" and "reach for the stars" and all of the other cliche advice that Hallmark can muster up (I�m not sure what they really mean, either).

And then there are the questions... From parents, friends of parents, grandparents, friends of grandparents, strangers on the street... like, What are you going to do with that degree? and Have you found a job yet? and When are you planning on saving up for retirement? 

When I was 23 and facing these things it was just kind of like, Geez, can�t I just have 5 minutes to enjoy the fact that I survived Finals and I can sleep in tomorrow?. 

The answer is no. People want to know your life plan and they want to know now! 

But before you start feeling overwhelmed with all of the things that graduation brings, here are 5 little pieces of advice that I really wish someone had told me when I was a recent grad! 

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1: Be prepared to feel a little let-down after you graduate. 

College is just such an awesome experience; you have so much fun, you work so hard, you look SO forward to graduating and moving on! It�s like this huge milestone in your life that is really difficult to follow. So be prepared to feel a little bummed. The good news is that feeling this way is super common (1 in 4 graduates). And the other good news is that it only lasts a short amount of time (1-5 months). 

Here are some articles that may be helpful for dealing with this:

11 Ways to Avoid Post College Depression
Graduate Blues: Why We Need to Talk About Post-University Depression
Graduation Depression: Overcoming a Common Problem

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2: If you don�t have experience in your field, it might take you a few months to find a job. 

As far as employment goes, experience trumps education EVERY. TIME. If you don�t immediately get hired at your dream job, don�t take it personally. It takes most graduates 3-9 months to find a job.  48% of graduates choose to move back home after college. But guess what? Over one million people graduate from college each year. That means a LOT of people are going through exactly the same thing you are right now. So, you are definitely not alone!

Here is some helpful reading on this:

10 Things New College Grads Must Do Now to Snag a Job
Career Statistics
Get Over It: The Truth About College Grad �Underemployment�

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3: It might seem like everyone but you has it all together. They don�t. 

Even though it may not seem like it, most people are pretty much in the same boat at this point in their lives. Just relax. The perfect job will come along. The important thing to remember is that this all about your attitude and how you present yourself. It may seem like everyone is landing awesome jobs except for you� but just keep trying!

Here are things that may make you feel a little better: 

Does Everybody Have a Job But You? 
What My 20�s Taught Me: Everyone is Faking It 
Why Not Me? How to Stay Confident When Everyone is Succeeding But You

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4: It is ok to hate doing the thing you went to school for. 

I never changed my major in college. I loved my major. I assumed that would love doing it as my career, too. But when I landed my first �real� job out of college, I really and truly hated doing it in �real life� (I was a paralegal, by the way). Your major is not some permanent life branding. The important part is to realize that you can apply aspects what you did learn from your major to any job!

Here is some proof that your major is not the only thing that matters:

Major Myths
Most Employers Don�t Care What Your College Major Was
Why I Let My Daughter Get a �Useless' College Degree

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5: There is no shame in switching careers.

New jobs are learning experiences and they are meant to be hard. But there is definitely a difference in having a tough time adjusting to �grownup life� and being in the wrong career. You should not be counting down to retirement 2 months into your new job. And if there is ever a good time to make a career change, it�s now! So what if your education is in something different? Find out what it would take to do what you love and make it happen! 25 years is a long time to be miserable!

Tips for changing careers:

14 Secrets to Career Change Success
A Step-By-Step Plan to Change Your Career to Something You Love
How to Switch Careers

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Whether you�re dealing the frustration of job searching or the sadness of graduation, don�t worry... Everything will turn out the way it is supposed to!

Just remember to step back from time-to-time and see the big picture! :)

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Do you have any advice/questions to add to this? 

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Weekly Menu

Hope everyone had a great long Memorial Day weekend!  It was such beautiful weather in Columbus, I mean, we couldn't ask for more perfect weather.  It was hard not to be outside for every moment (and my skin is a little pink to prove it).

We started off the weekend by a bonfire staring toward the sky to catch glimpses or the Giraffe meteor shower (meteors were entering our atmosphere about where we see the Camelopardalis constellation, which looks like a giraffe).  I think we ended our count at 9 satellites and 3 meteors after accidentally falling asleep outside and then calling it a night.  But the meteors we saw were amazing!  Nothing like your every day shooting star, these guys had wide blue tails and were so pretty.

Festival season in Columbus really started a couple weeks ago, but Asian Festival is always my season starter.  The little parade followed us around and even circled us at one point!  After getting some tasty yakisoba and tempura, it was off to tailgate for the Crew game.  The boys looked especially good the first half and we ended with a W 2-0.  

Lots of flower planting, mulching, and raised bed building... which sounds like hard work (it is), but I love it.  Just something about getting your hands in the dirt that heals the soul.  I'm so excited for the new raised beds my husband built for me out of pallets!  I dug up the strawberries that were growing everywhere (except in the pot I planted them in!) and now have a strawberry bed!  Before the runners spread everywhere, the beds are also being used for herbs and lettuce seeds.  :)  Also, I planted hibiscus flowers in my deck planters!  I can't wait to see them in full bloom and feel like I'm somewhere tropical instead of landlocked Ohio.

Today we took Snoop to Hocking Hills to hike some of the Buckeye Trail.  He was such a trooper with all of the elevation changes, stairs, mud, and heat.  He spends most of his time laying around being a lazy dog, but he'll hike seven miles like a champ too.  Hopefully it helps with the four pounds the vet wants him to lose (so silly).

 

Oh, and then the garden is coming along great.  The hoop house has ready sped things along.  Look at that rainbow chard!  It is definitely time for some cheesy chard biscuits!

So, time for this week's menu... which is pretty light due to a busy week.  We're celebrating drinkupcolumbus.com's 3rd blogerversary with Cheryl on Thursday (come join, it's free).  And then box seating at the Clipper's game on Friday.  While I normally don't cook too much on the weekends (we're usually on the go and trying out new restaurants), this weekend might be filled with camping food.  We'll see if the weather holds out...

grilled caesar salad

sliders and crispy potatoes

fish tacos

And our CSA deliveries starts this week!  Can't wait for spinach, strawberry, and green onion salads just picked from the fields hours beforehand.  Mmm... fresh.

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